GRADUATE COURSES IN ANTHROPOLOGY

The following is a list of all approved graduate courses in anthropology. Some of the courses being taught in the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 academic years are listed. Please check Wolverine Access for current offerings, and the LSA Course Guide for current course descriptions. Offerings are subject to change without notice.

ARCHAEOLOGY

400 FIELD STUDIES

The Field Studies course provides students with an opportunity to participate in unique, original, and exciting research in West Africa. Students will be trained in fundamental methods and techniques of archaeological survey, excavation, artifact recording, data analysis, map drafting.

401 ARCHAEOLOGY LABORATORY STUDIES

The course aims to train students in core archaeological processing of excavated remains. It involves restoration, description, drafting, as well as cataloging. Students must be concurrently enrolled in Anthrarc 400 in order to take this course.

407 ARCHAEOLOGY OF SOUTH ASIA

Provides an overview of South Asian Archaeology from the earliest evidence for hominids at c. 1.5 million years ago through the emergence of early historic states and empires. Discusses major cultural transitions and important sites in several regions of South Asia, in the context of the history of archaeological research in this area.

442 ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA: HISTORY AND CULTURE (Fall 2007, Norman Yoffee)

Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian civilization from the first cuneiform documents to the fall of the Neo-Babylonian empire; special attention to (1) the rise and nature of early Mesopotamian city-states; (2) Mesopotamian economics; (3) Mesopotamian law; (4) ethnic relations in Mesopotamia; (5) Mesopotamia and its neighbors – Egypt, Iran, Israel; (6) the collapse of Mesopotamian civilization.

483 NEAR EASTERN PREHISTORY (Winter 2008, Henry Wright)

This course traces the evolution of culture and society in Israel, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, from the earliest evidence for humans in the region (over 1,000,000 years ago) until the rise of Mesopotamian civilization (around 2500 B.C.) Topics include the origins of agriculture and animal domestication, the establishment of village and town life, and the rise of cities in the Tigris-Euphrates lowlands.

484 ARCHAEOLOGY OF MIND

The course aims to present and discuss archaeological evidence for the emergence, development and consolidation of human ability for abstraction and thought. Case studies are drawn from different areas around the world to address issues of tool-making, burial practices, and artistic expressions, from the remote human origins to the present.

485 ARCHAEOLOGY ALONG THE SILK ROAD

This course surveys the major archaeological finds along the Silk Road and Interprets the social-political-cultural implications of archaeology in a modern context.

487 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TRAINING PROGRAM IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Provides undergraduate and graduate students with training in excavation, survey, and artifact analysis, while participating in ongoing research. The sites excavated are all Native American in origin. All lectures and much of the training related to artifact and site interpretation stress Native American lifeways, symbolic and religious values, etc.

488 PREHISTORY OF MEXICO

Archaeology of Mexico from earliest times to Spanish conquest; late Pleistocene hunters, early farmers, rise of cities, and the Aztec state.

489 MAYA AND CENTRAL AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY

This course emphasizes the archaeology and cultural evolution of the ancient Maya, whose civilization once extended from eastern Mexico through Guatemala and Belize into El Salvador and Honduras.

490 PREHISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA (Fall 2007, John Speth)

Students are introduced to the diversity of prehistoric Native American cultures in North America, with emphasis on the Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Great Basin and Southwest. Twelve thousand years of accommodations to diverse natural and social environments are covered, starting with the initial peopling of the Americas and ending with early contacts between Europeans and Native Americans.

491 PREHISTORY OF THE CENTRAL ANDES

The development of Andean civilization from Post-Pleistocene times through the Spanish conquest. An attempt to combine ecological, archaeological, and documentary data into a meaningful synthesis of the major cultural patterns and processes involved in the evolution of complex society in the area between Colombia and Central Chile.

492 PREHISTORY OF OCEANIA

Area survey course on the archaeology of Australia, New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands (Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia) from the time of first human settlement to European discovery.

494 INTRODUCTION TO ANALYTICAL METHODS IN ARCHAEOLOGY

An introduction to the major methods of statistical analysis used in archaeological research.

495 ETHNOGRAPHY, ARCHAEOLOGY, ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF PASTORALISM

Pastoralism is the human practice of herding domestic animals. This course focuses on the ethnography, archaeology, origin, and evolution of pastoralism. Specific questions addressed are: How does one identify pastoralism archaeologically? What happens when animals equate with wealth? How does pastoralism vary as the degree of human dependence on animals change?

581 ARCHAEOLOGY I (Fall 2007, Robert Whallon)

Roughly half of this course is devoted to developing models of the operation and evolution of hunter-gatherer cultural systems and to discussing the ways in which these systems may be studied from the archaeological record. The second half of the course consists of a review of the archaeological evidence from the evolution of these cultural systems from their earliest appearance until the beginnings of sedentary agricultural communities.

582 ARCHAEOLOGY II (Winter 2008, Henry Wright)

A survey of world prehistoric cultural development from village life to urban civilization. It introduces theories of the origin of agriculture, the development of ranked and stratified societies, and the origin of states and empires. Exemplary data from Mesoamerica, the Central Andes and Mesopotamia are used to test these theories.

585 ADVANCED FIELD STUDIES

The new Advanced Field Studies course provides graduate students with a unique opportunity to participate in archaeological field research in West Africa. In addition to training in methods of survey, excavation and analysis, students will participate directly in ongoing research on the development of West African cultures and societies. Students will work together with the director to develop a research proposal which sets out a specific question or problem that can be evaluated using archaeological data recovered during the excavations. The results of this research will be presented as a written paper following the field season. This paper provides students with experience in how to move from "raw" data to general conclusions; and a basis for students to present their research findings at professional meetings and to develop their results into publishable form.

587 AEGEAN ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

A survey of the major sites of Greece, Crete, and the Cyclades in the Bronze Age, with particular reference to architectural and ceramic development and interdependence.

593 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS (Fall 2007, John O’Shea)

This course is designed principally for graduate students in anthropology. It examines the epistemological basis for archaeology, major theoretical frameworks for reconstructing past human organization and studying its change, and methodological approaches appropriate for such investigations.

680 OLD WORLD REGIONAL ARCHAEOLOGY

A detailed treatment of specific problems and areas in the Old World.

681 MATERIAL CULTURE

This class focuses on material culture, broadly defined and from a variety of perspectives. Rather than viewing the 'world of goods' as reflections of culture, we explore their centrality in creating and shaping cultural knowledge and human actions. Readings are drawn from archaeology, ethnography, history, art history, social theory, geography.

691 SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS OF PRE-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES

Analysis of ethnographic, historic and ethnohistoric sources in order to determine causal factors in the configuration of human settlement at various developmental stages prior to the advent of modern industrial society. The major objective is to develop models for the interpretation of prehistoric settlement systems.

692 STUDIES IN THE ORIGIN OF THE STATE

Research seminar stressing anthropological contributions to the problem of state formation. One or two topics among the following are considered each semester the course is offered: the position of feudalism in state development, the archaic civilizations of the Near East, the African proto-states and modern state formation.

693 ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH DESIGN (Fall 2007, John O’Shea)

This seminar addresses archaeological research design from problem formulation through data collection and analysis. Topics include scientific methods, and hypothesis testing, as well as how to link theoretical questions to archaeological evidence. Also addressed are practical dimensions of research, including proposal writing, granting agencies, budgets, research permits, and ethics.

694 ANALYTIC METHODS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Seminar on problems in handling and interpreting archaeological data. The course covers such topics as attributable analysis of artifacts, problems in the handling of stylistic data, use of settlement pattern studies, structure within cemeteries and the use of statistics in archaeological research. Computer methods in archaeology will be discussed. Emphasis on one or more of these topics varies from year to year.

BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

450 MOLECULAR ANTHROPOLOGY

The course encompasses the theory and methodology of molecular genetic data collection, as well as the analysis of molecular genetic data. Molecular genetic data is used to illustrate the basic principals of population genetics and molecular evolution. Class projects involve analyses of molecular data.

451 MOLECULAR ANTHROPOLOGY LAB

This is a laboratory course where students learn and employ some of the basic methodologies for collecting molecular genetic data. Methods include DNA extraction, PCR, electrophoresis, RFLP analyses, analysis of STR polymorphisms, and DNA sequencing. Class projects include collection and analysis of data.

452 POPULATION GENETICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY (Fall 2007, Adam VanArsdale)

This course covers the basics of population genetics, with special reference to evolutionary questions. Core concepts of population genetics are emphasized, including: selection, drift, equilibrium, neutrality, heterogeneity, genetic distance, gene flow, founder effect, and bottlenecks. Projects involve population genetic analyses of data to test hypotheses.

464 NUTRITIONAL FUNCTIONAL ANTHROPOMETRY

Evaluation of the research strategies, methods, and techniques used in the study of nutrition of past and contemporary populations.

465 PRIMATE FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY

This course introduces students to the evolutionary history of the primate radiation, particularly the evolution of monkeys, apes and humans, through an analysis of primate anatomy. The focus will be on the postcranial musculoskeletal anatomy of extant and fossil primates and reconstruction of the behavior of extinct forms.

467 HUMAN BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY (Winter 2008 & 2009, Beverly Strassmann)

This course considers the anthropological significance of recent advances in natural selection theory. Students will read the primary scientific literature to learn how anthropologists test evolutionary hypotheses about human behavior.

468 BEHAVIORAL BIOLOGY OF WOMEN

The course integrates evidence from biology, psychology, and anthropology to examine women's lives from an evolutionary and cross-cultural perspective. Special emphasis on critical events in the female life cycle related to reproduction.

560 HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE ECOLOGY (Fall 2008, Beverly Strassmann)

This is a graduate-level seminar on human reproductive ecology. We will read technical, scientific articles that assume a strong background in biology as well as evolutionary theory. Sample questions include: Why did menstruation and menopause evolve? Does menstrual synchrony exist? Does female sexuality change at the time of ovulation? What adaptations influence female fertility? What progress has been made in understanding male reproductive strategies? We will also explore diverse cultural practices that constrain female sexuality.

561 QUANTITATIVE FIELD METHODS

This course teaches students how to do quantitative fieldwork in Anthropology. Topics include: sample selection, hypothesis testing, strong interence, research instruments, interview and measurement techniques, behavioral observation, statistical analysis, demographic censuses, collection of biomedical specimens, map making, fieldwork ethics, and human subjects compliance. The goal is to equip students with a set of tools with which to strive for excellence in research. This course is aimed at students of all subfields and theoretical orientations.

562 HUMAN NATURE (Winter 2008 & 2009, Beverly Strassmann)

An advanced seminar in evolutionary psychology. Topics covered include: sexual selection, mating systems theory, parental investment, reciprocity, morality, and religion.

563 MECHANISM OF HUMAN ADAPTATION (Fall 2007, Roberto Frisancho)

Short-term and long-term bio-cultural responses of man to environmental stress; human genetics, growth, physiology, and culture. Individual and population variations in response to stress.

564 HOMINID ORIGINS (Winter 2009, Milford Wolpoff)

Appearance of the earliest humans in Africa, evolution of Australopithecine species, and the issue of arboreal life in the hominids. Both theories and data are emphasized.

565 EVOLUTION OF GENUS HOMO

Evolution of the genus Homo from H. erectus to modern human populations. Topics include origin and dispersal of Homo erectus, appearance and evolution of early H. sapiens, Neanderthal, and modern humans. Some laboratory work is included.

566 LABORATORY IN HUMAN OSTEOLOGY (Winter 2008, Adam VanArsdale)

Identification and analysis of human osteological remains.

568 PRIMATE BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY (Winter 2008 & 2009, Jacinta Beehner)

A survey of the biological, ecological, and social determinants of non-human primate social behavior. Topics covered include role behavior social organization, play, conflict resolution, reproductive behavior, kinship, ecology, communication, and socialization.

570 BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW (Winter 2008 & 2009, Laura MacLatchy)

A summary of what a professional anthropologist should understand concerning those aspects of basic biology that have to be taken into account to make sense out of the evidence for human evolution and "racial" variation. The emergence of modern "racial" differences is treated in terms of both adaptive and non-adaptive aspects of biological variation. The perspective of evolutionary theory is used throughout. The contributions made by the study of both living and fossil non-primates is also included.

664 PROBLEMS OF NUTRITION, GROWTH & AGING (Winter 2008, Roberto Frisancho)

670 HISTORY OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

A survey of the attempts to explain the nature of man as a biological species, with emphasis on the role of political events and national traditions in shaping prevailing interpretations.

SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(Area)

402 CHINESE SOCIETY AND CULTURE (Fall 2007, Erik Mueggler)

Description and interpretation of Chinese social organization and cultural practice, treating such topics as family, gender, household economy, community organization, class structure, religious beliefs and modern changes.

403 JAPANESE SOCIETY AND CULTURE (Fall 2007, Jennifer Robertson)

This is a multi-media course designed to introduce and explore the salient patterns in and of (mostly post-WW2) Japanese society and culture. Our overall aim is to appreciate the ways in which Japanese women and men, girls and boys--from punks and theatre fans to police officers and office workers--construe, construct, communicate, reproduce, and resist everyday practices and realities. Ethnicity, sexualities, and gender ideologies are among the main organizing vectors.

405 PEOPLES AND CULTURES OF INDIA

Forms of society and culture in traditional India. Family, caste, village, region, and religion.

408 MATERNAL/CHILD HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN AFRICA

This course focuses on the effects of environment and environmental pollution on the health of women and children in several sub-Saharan African countries. Selected readings in medical anthropological, public health, and environmental pollution as well as films examining connections between health, environmental factors, and development are discussed.

409 PEOPLES AND CULTURES OF THE NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA (Winter 2008, Andrew Shryock)

A general introduction to the contemporary Near East and North Africa, with particular emphasis on the contrast and interplay between traditional and "modern" elements in culture and society.

410 ETHNOGRAPHY & POLITICS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA (Winter 2008, Kelly Askew)

This course explores some of the ways that political processes in southern Africa have been illuminated via ethnographic accounts. After situating anthropological discourse in its colonial and post-colonial contexts, the course examines ethnographic contributions to understanding such things as migrant labor, urbanization, nationalism, and ethnicity.

411 AFRICAN CULTURE (Winter 2008 & 2009, Maxwell Owusu)

A survey of the processes and patterns of socio-cultural, political, and economic development in Africa before the period of European colonial rule.

414 INTRO TO CARIBBEAN SOCIETIES & CULTURES (Fall 2007 & 2008, Maxwell Owusu)

A survey of the peoples and cultures of the Caribbean with emphasis on Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Guyana. Analysis of class, race relations, cultural pluralism, ethnicity, population movements, and economic development.

415 ANDEAN CIVILIZATION

Survey of social structure, political economy and cultures of Native Andean peoples from the Incas to the present, using ethnographic materials. Emphasis on continuities in reciprocity as an organizational principle, land and water, tenure patterns and ritual organization.

416 GLOBAL HEALTH: ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES (Fall 2007, Mark Padilla) (Fall 2008, Marcia Inhorn)

This medical anthropology course is designed to provide an extensive overview of the major initiatives and issues in global health over the past three decades. Anthropological perspectives on and critiques of international health development programs will be emphasized. Readings will focus on examples of anthropology in global public health.

417 INDIANS OF MEXICO AND GUATEMALA

This course provides an overview of Indian groups occupying Mexico and Guatemala. Groups include the Maya, Nahuatl (Aztec), Zapotec, Mixtec, Huichol, Mixe, Tarascans, etc. Course will focus on social and political organization, world view and religion, subsistence, settlement patterns, etc. Comparisons and contrasts between groups will be made in an effort to determine shared ancestry, the borrowing of various practices, the domination of one group over another, and independent developments.

423 ANTHROPOLOGY IN MELANESIA: HISTORY AND CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS (Winter 2009, Stuart Kirsch)

Anthropological research in Melanesia has played a significant role in the history of the discipline, from Malinowski’s early work in the Trobriand Islands to the scholarship of the 1970s and 1980s. The first half of the course considers anthropological contributions to long-standing debates about magic, sorcery, ritual, exchange, social relations, and gender. The second half examines the more recent generation of ethnographies that addresses the state, modernization, and processes of globalization, including Melanesian engagements with mining companies, commodities, Christianity, and NGOs.

502 HUMANISTIC STUDIES OF HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY CHINA

The course will examine the present state of research in selected areas of scholarly inquiry in Chinese studies - language, literature, history, religion, material culture, and art history - as we interrogate such seemingly common-sense notions as "civilization," "culture," "tradition," "modernity," and above all, "Chinese-ness." Our goals are to develop good reading skills, stimulate critical thinking, and inspire imaginative approaches to humanistic problems.

503 NON-WESTERN COLONIALISMS

This seminar foregrounds imperialist regimes and colonialist states operating outside of Western Europe and the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries by focusing on the case of Japan. It offers an important corrective to the more Eurocentric literature on colonialism and imperialism.

504 PEOPLES AND CULTURES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA (Fall 2007, Webb Keane)

Southeast Asia is marked by enormous diversity in everything from ecology to political systems. Long a dynamic cross-road between the Indian Ocean and China, with deep ties to the Pacific islands, the region is socially and culturally complex. Indonesia, the world's fourth largest country, is home to the largest Islamic population within a single national border; the Philippines, whose complicated special relationship with the United States dates back to the nineteenth century, is predominantly Catholic. Thailand, which has never been formally colonized, is a major Buddhist nation. In the background to these large nation-states are hundreds of distinct local traditions and languages, as well as significant diasporic communities such as urban Chinese entrepreneurs. Interacting with rice farming villages, fishing towns, and royal courts are sprawling mega-cities and multi-national industrial enclaves; not far from the quintessential capitalist society of Singapore is the distinctively Vietnamese variety of socialism. This course will approach the region by way of selected case studies. Therefore the course will be of interest to any student seeking experience in the reading of ethnographic monographs, regardless of any particular regional interests.

507 EAST EUROPEAN & POST-SOVIET ETHNOGRAPHY

Close reading of significant ethnographic work on socialist and post-socialist Eastern Europe (including Russia). Emphasis is on the changing concepts that have driven this work, their relation to Cold-War problematics, and the specific contribution of ethnography to knowledge of this region.

524 EUROPE AND DIASPORA: NARRATIVES, MEMORIES AND MARKED LIVES (Winter 2008, Janet Hart)

The course begins with a review of theoretical literatures and debates in cultural anthropology and other disciplinary traditions regarding diaspora and related concepts such as transnationalism, creolization, cosmopolitanism and globalization. The second half of the course weaves in specific cases, primarily involving the African but also extending to other kinds of diasporas in Europe.

611 SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN SOCIETIES

An in-depth study of selected issues relating to the socio-economic and political development of Africa in the 20th century.

612 SEMINAR ON PROBLEMS IN AFRICAN ETHNOLOGY (Winter 2008, Kelly Askew)

An examination of the literature on traditional African politics, economies and kin groups in light of current theoretical issues in anthropology.

619 PROSEMINAR IN LATIN AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN STUDIES

This course is a Proseminar, intended for graduate students from different disciplines interested in understanding the history and representation of Latin America and the Caribbean in the twentieth century. It will cover selected aspects of the cultural and social history of Latin America and the Caribbean. Proseminars may deal with such issues as the impact of colonialism, of urbanization, of religion, of state-building projects and nationalism.

ETHNOLOGY
(Topical)

425 EVOLUTION OF WAR AND PEACE IN UNSTRATIFIED SOCIETIES

This course explores the origins and early evolutionary development of war, alliance, and peacemaking. Examining peaceful (or warless) societies establishes the context in which war originates, prior socio-cultural dispositions and key features of the transition from warlessness to warfare. Transitional cases elucidate the causes, conduct and consequences of early war.

427 AFRICAN WOMEN

The active roles African women play in their communities as these have changed from pre-colonial to contemporary times are discussed critically through the themes of autonomy and control of resources, esp. land, labor, income, education, and political authority.

429 TELEVISION, SOCIETY AND CULTURE (Fall 2007 & 2008, Conrad Kottak)

Television has been compared to a new religion, cultivating homogeneity, uniting adherents in a common set of images and symbols. Television executives, commentators and reporters have become "key gatekeepers" assuming roles played historically by political and religious leaders. TV has been labeled "narcoticizing" and faulted for diverting attention from serious social issues and replacing effective thought and action with passive absorption in portrayals. Television has been said to reinforce existing hierarchies and impede social reform. It also stimulates participation in a worldwide cash economy, and TV's worldwide spread has raised concerns about cultural imperialism. Ethnocentrism is common in the evaluation of television and its effects. Understanding of TV impact can be broadened through a cross-cultural approach to this medium, which, specific content and programming aside, must be recognized as one of the most powerful information disseminators, socializing agents and public-opinion molders in the contemporary world. This seminar will consider cross-cultural diversity in TV and will assess the medium's various social, cultural, and psychological dimensions and effects.

436 HUMAN RIGHTS, GENDER AND CULTURE (Fall 2007, Miriam Ticktin)

This course introduces the concept of human rights, using gender, race and class as focal points. Asking how an increasingly hegemonic discourse is culturally contextualized and mediated, the class moves from a genealogy of rights, including humanism, capitalism and imperialism, to the themes of relativism/universalism, cultural rights, and women's rights.

438 URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY (Fall 2007, Damani Partridge)

What characterizes life in an urban society? What are the common features and/or variations between urban societies situated in different cultural and historical contexts? In addressing such questions, this course will be organized around two broad concerns: 1) the anthropology of cities: the main factors shaping the nature of urban life, the historical emergence of urban forms, and different forms of urbanism and 2) anthropology in cities: examining themes such as social networks, class, gender, idioms of identity, and the status of institutions, with reference to specific ethnographic accounts.

439 ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Winter 2008 & 2009, Maxwell Owusu)

An introduction to economic anthropology and development in village-based tribal, peasant and urbanizing societies of the Third World; the nature of economic anthropology; anthropological perspectives on development; specific case studies of development and underdevelopment.

440 CULTURAL ADAPTATION

Introduction to ecological anthropology and the evolutionary adaptation of cultures, origins of cultural diversity, and cultural adaptation and maladaptation.

451 AFRICAN-AMERICAN RELIGION (Winter 2009, Melvin Williams)

This course examines the nature of religion in the lives of humans, within the framework of culture, and as a pervasive social institution. Focus is character of religion in the history and lives of African-Americans.

453